The effect of a 7-week ridden vs unridden training period on weight carrying capacity in horses

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Abstract Knowledge about whether weight carrying capacity in horses is affected by training is lacking. The purpose of the study was to evaluate a 7-week, 3 times/week, ridden vs unridden training program on the physiological response to a ridden incremental weight carrying exercise test (WET) in 14 Icelandic horses (aged 13 ± 3 years). During training sessions (∼30 min), horses were exercised in pairs, one ridden (n = 7) and one unridden (n = 7), in all gaits. The pairs performed the WET simultaneously, before and after the training period, in tölt (5.2 ± 0.3 m/s), carrying approximately 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% of their own body weight (BW) at each step (650 m), respectively. Respiratory rate (RR) was measured after the last step and 5 min of recovery. Blood samples were collected after each step and 5 min of recovery for analysis of plasma lactate concentration. An additional blood sample was collected 24 h post-exercise for analysis of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK). The weight carried as a percentage of each horse’s BW at a plasma lactate concentration of 4 mmol/l was estimated and did not differ between training groups or occasions ( ). There was an interaction effect between group and occasion ( ), where plasma lactate concentration tended to be higher after training in the unridden group and lower in the ridden group compared with before the training period ( ). No effect of training group or occasion was found for RR, or concentration of AST and CK ( ). The results provide no clear evidence that ridden training is beneficial for weight carrying capacity in horses, although the effect on plasma lactate concentration warrant further investigation of the potential effects of ridden training.

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